


"Hail HYDRA"

by zerothemartyr



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-28
Updated: 2016-04-01
Packaged: 2018-05-29 18:55:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6389149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zerothemartyr/pseuds/zerothemartyr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The mission went south. There's a mole on the team. It's not who they thought it was.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mission gone South

**Author's Note:**

> Credit for the prompt goes to tumblr user mindfullofstories. This is my first completed fic, so feedback (both good and bad) is much appreciated. Enjoy!

The air was thick with the scent of gunpowder; Natasha’s hands shook as she unloaded the last of her ammo into an unsuspecting HYDRA agent. The man fell to the ground with a sickening thud. Natasha limped past the body and opened a door that read ‘supplies’ on a shiny silver plaque. The room was basic, with no windows and filled with desks and printers. Natasha crawled under a small wooden desk that would allow her the ability to see who had entered the room without them seeing her.

Usually when missions go south, Maria or Natasha would radio in and request immediate extraction. Unfortunately on this particular mission long distance communication had been compromised, all frequencies were being jammed. Luckily, their hand held radios were still functional up to a three hundred metre radius. Natasha adjusted her frequency to the secure line she had set up after long-distance comms had gone down.

“This is Agent Romanoff, calling all remaining operatives. I’ve just taken down an Agent in the south-west corridor. There is an empty room down here. It’s nothing fancy, just desks and printers. We can lay low here and come up with a plan of action. I’m all out of ammo so I’m not much use for storming the armoury right now,” Natasha cleared her throat and waited for some sort of response, this entire mission was a mess.

HYDRA had known they were coming and Natasha had seen far too many good agents go down. Natasha was deep in thought, plotting her revenge against HYDRA as the radio in her hand crackled into life.

“Agent Hill, confirming that all remaining operatives are to convene in the south-western corridor in approximately thirty minutes. Take care not to be followed.” Maria’s voice was controlled; Natasha could only imagine how angry Maria was right now.

Maria had received an anonymous tip off about a warehouse near the docks being a HYDRA facility. The team had done their homework before infiltrating the warehouse, all the information checked out. There were watchtowers and guard patrols, not too heavily armed yet they still carried enough firepower to have something worth protecting.

When the team first set foot in the warehouse, they had lost five agents in a gunfight against a small army of HYDRA agents. There was no questioning it, S.H.I.E.L.D had been set up, HYDRA had been expecting them.

Natasha fiddled with her radio and tuned it to Maria’s private line; words of comfort can go a long way in these situations.

“Hey babe, how are you holding up?” Natasha’s voice was hesitant, unsure of whether she really wanted to know the answer to that particular question.

“I have three bullets left, four if we are including the one currently lodged in my shoulder. I’m pretty sure I’ve broken a couple of ribs but…” There was a pause in the conversation as Natasha heard Maria take a deep breath and exhale slowly.

“I don’t think I’ve punctured anything, which is always a plus. Are you okay? Are you hurt? I would have stayed with you but I couldn’t risk being caught in the crossfire. We have lost at least six agents, five when we first entered and I lost Mortimer about twenty-five minutes ago. He took a bullet to the thigh and bled out before I could do anything.” Maria sighed in frustration, Natasha was almost certain the woman was pinching the bridge of her nose. It was a bad habit of Maria’s, especially when she was feeling stressed.

“Don’t you worry about me; it takes more than a couple of HYDRA agents with terrible aim to take me down. I’m glad to hear you’re okay though; this mission went south the moment we got here. They knew we were coming. I know you’re not going to want hear this but…”

“You think we have a mole on the team? I may have to agree with you on that one. There is, however, a strong chance the mole has already been dealt with since arriving here. HYDRA are infamous for covering their tracks with blood. We’ll talk more about this once we have rallied the troops, or at least what’s left of them. Stay out of sight until someone with ammo arrives, okay?”

“Of course, I’ll let you know if our little rendezvous point becomes compromised in any way. Fingers crossed Bobbi made it through, she will be a useful asset in whatever we decide to do next. Stay safe, I love you.” Natasha bit down on her lip and found herself blinking back tears; she turned off the radio before she could hear if Maria responded.

Natasha had toyed with several different plans in her mind. None of them had favourable chances of getting them out alive. Natasha knew that, since it being an anonymous tip, S.H.I.E.L.D had not legally approved the mission due to various government restrictions in place. The team had all signed waivers and accepted that this mission was very much a long shot. If it were to go wrong, and it could not have gone more wrong, S.H.I.E.L.D could not be relied on to swoop in and save the day. This could end badly.


	2. Down but not out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The agents that survived are beginning to arrive at the rendezvous point. Can they be trusted?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I hope you like it so far. Feedback again would be super awesome, both good and bad! I've already written the final chapter and will most likely post it within the next 3 days. Enjoy :)

The first agent to arrive was Patterson; she had all but crawled into the room with a gunshot wound just above her kneecap. At first Romanoff did not respond, or make it known she was even in the room. Instead, she watched Patterson crawl to the corner of the room closest to the doorway.

“That leg looks pretty nasty, I’d offer to clean it but I’m all out of supplies.”

Agent Patterson jumped when she heard Natasha’s voice and began scanning the room for the source. Natasha revealed herself once she wriggled out from under the desk and walked over to Patterson to check her injuries.

“Bleeding isn’t life-threatening at the moment, that’s not to say you’ll be fine without medical treatment.” Natasha placed the back of her hand over the woman’s forehead, “You’re burning up too, and that wound is going to catch an infection if we don’t get out of this mess soon.”

“Agent Romanoff, I don’t mean to be dramatic but I joined S.H.I.E.L.D to be the shield, to protect people from any threat in this universe and beyond. The wound is already septic; I have done enough medical training to know that blood poisoning has already set in. I cannot run or fight, I am out of ammo. If you and whoever else is left require a distraction, then by all means I will gladly give my life for yours.”

For the second time that day Natasha found herself blinking back tears, she cleared her throat and crouched down next to Patterson, holding the woman’s watery gaze.

“Patterson, you’ve been with S.H.I.E.L.D what? Four years now? I would hope by now that you understand we run missions on military based tactics; we also take the whole ‘no soldier left behind’ notion seriously. We are not going to abandon you here just because it might make our getaway a little easier. It won’t come to that, you hear me?”

“Loud and clear ma’am.”

“Excellent, now do you know who’s left of us? I know Maria made it and I’m hoping Bobbi has too, that woman is nothing if not resilient.” Natasha had subconsciously started pacing the room as she mulled over what to do about Patterson, she hadn’t been wrong about the blood poisoning. Even if they all get out alive, by the time Patterson receives treatment best-case scenario is amputation of her leg and several blood transfusions. Worst case, well that scenario applied to them all. Patterson’s voice cut through Natasha’s thoughts.

“I saw Bobbi dealing with two HYDRA agents near the mess hall about half an hour ago then one of them dropped a stun grenade and I lost sight of her. I also saw Simpson about ten minutes ago up near the northern watchtower. I saw him take a hell of a beating, though he might have made it out.”

Just as Patterson finished talking, the door creaked open slightly. Natasha signalled Patterson to keep down as she crept along the wall to investigate their ‘intruder’.

“Simpson, Jesus Christ. Put the gun down and get in here.” Natasha hauled Simpson in by the collar of his jacket and shut the door silently. Other than a split lip, the guy seemed to be in one piece. Simpson nodded in the direction of Patterson and again at Romanoff.

“Maria is on her way; said she heard a disturbance in one of the offices and went to investigate. Is this all that is left of us now?” Simpson looked as worried as Natasha felt. The odds really were not in their favour.

“Quality not quantity, don’t count us out just yet. You got any ammo left?” Natasha had slipped into leadership mode now that there was three of them. Not that Simpson and Patterson were not capable, they were both ex-military. Soldiers tend to follow orders better than giving them and Natasha had always been independent when it came to tactics and warfare.

“Ammo? No, I kept my gun to look intimidating for the most part. My radio has been picking up nothing but static for the last ten minutes so I figured it was best not to just stroll into a room that was potential full of HYDRA agents.”

Natasha didn’t really hear anything after Simpson mentioned his radio picking up static. She snatched the radio from Simpson’s belt and began fiddling with the knobs until she had Maria’s private line connected.

“Hill, this is Agent Romanoff. Can you hear me?”

No response. No sound other than the constant hum of white noise. Natasha tried again.

“Maria? Please, say something.” Natasha didn’t even try to hold back her tears this time; Natasha needed Maria. Not just for the mission, for everything.

For all the Friday nights they spend eating pizza and watching cheesy films (The breakfast club was Maria’s favourite), for the Monday morning complaints about how terrible the coffee is at S.H.I.E.L.D. For all the experiences they were yet to have and all the memories they were yet to make.

“Romanoff, I’m….” The static on the radio was intermittent and crackling. Natasha could just about make out Maria’s voice, she sounded… Alive. That was all Natasha could focus on. Natasha used her sleeves to wipes the tears from her face and grabbed the radio.

“Hill, give me your ETA”

“ETA two minutes, I have Bobbi with me.”

Natasha could not have received better news, Maria was okay and Bobbi was with her. They might just make it out of this in one piece.


	3. Hail HYDRA...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A mole has revealed themselves to the team. Now would be a really good time to use those spare bullets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After I finished writing this chapter I wasn't sure if I wanted to explode with maniacal laughter or have a good cry... Enjoy!
> 
> Oh and if you want to come have a rant at me for this, you can find me on tumblr (thestarsinner)

One hundred and four seconds after Maria had given Natasha a two-minute estimate, there was no sign of Maria. Natasha was standing in front of the door anxiously chewing on her nails. One hundred and nineteen seconds and Natasha could feel herself beginning to panic. One hundred and thirty seven seconds after Maria’s voice broke through the crisp sound of static; Natasha heard footsteps in the corridor outside. Natasha’s pulse was racing as the door swung open and Maria entered the room.

“Maria!”

Natasha dropped her usual professional demeanour and pulled Maria in for a hug. After releasing her, Natasha’s eyes pored over Maria’s body checking for any injuries other than those she already knew of. Once Natasha was confident Maria was more or less okay, Natasha began to frown.

“I thought Bobbi was with you?”

Natasha could feel panic beginning to build up inside of her. Bobbi was one of the most able agents on this mission. If HYDRA had neutralised Bobbi, there was little hope for the rest of them.

Maria stood up straight and slipped into director mode as she addressed Natasha’s question. Natasha had always envied how Maria could place a mask over her emotions no matter the circumstance.

“Bobbi is currently searching the bodies in the corridor for anything that could be of use to us. Ammo, swipe cards or radios. We need all the help we can get right now. She should be here within the next five minutes. Who here has ammo left? Are we expecting any more agents?”

Natasha, taking Maria’s lead, attempted to put her walls back up and responded as professionally as possible.

“I’m out of ammo, as are both Patterson and Simpson. It is safe to assume it’s just us now. Ideally, we could really use a medivac. Patterson has taken a bullet to her left leg; there is some shrapnel in the wound. We move Patterson, we risk the shrapnel moving and severing her femoral artery. She could bleed out before we make it past the watchtowers.” Natasha made eye contact with Maria and tried to hold her gaze. Maria looked away uncomfortably and began to speak.

“We should wait for Bobbi to come back before we make any definite plans. She may find something useful to us. Has anybody attempted to make contact with S.H.I.E.L.D yet?”

“No ma’am.” Both Patterson and Simpson replied in unison. Maria turned to Natasha waiting for her answer. Natasha glanced over to the corner on the other side of the room and back to Maria, they really needed to discuss the possible mole problem. Maria sighed and walked to the corner and leant against a desk tapping her foot impatiently. Natasha joined Maria, the air between them thick with tension, though Natasha couldn’t comprehend why.

Just as Natasha began to voice her concerns, the door flew open and Bobbi stormed in. Bobbi glanced around the room with a look that was nothing short of murderous, before turning to face Patterson and Simpson and putting two bullets in their heads. Natasha let out a gasp, unwilling to believe she had really just seen Bobbi shoot two of their agents in cold blood.

“Maria, get behind me,” Natasha sounded as shocked as she felt. Maria did not respond, could not respond. Natasha looked up at Maria and managed to catch her eye. The lovers shared a grim look before looking back at Bobbi.

Natasha took a step forward, placing herself between Bobbi and Maria. If anyone was going to be walking out of this room alive, it was Maria. Bobbi lifted her chin and looked down her nose at Natasha, smirking at the way Natasha had defensively stepped in front of Maria. Bobbi took a step closer to the pair, before stopping to reload her gun.

Natasha wasn’t confident enough in her hand-to-hand combat skills to attack Bobbi, not without risking Maria. Natasha had sparred with Bobbi in the past, now was not the time to attack an enemy once viewed as Natasha’s equal in combat training.

Natasha wondered if Bobbi had been receiving information and orders through a hidden earpiece. It was now painfully apparent that Bobbi was the mole on their team.

If the situation had been different, had they been aware of who Bobbi truly was before this mission. Natasha was certain both herself and Maria would have gladly left Bobbi to rot in the deepest darkest hole. To Natasha this wasn’t just another sleeper agent’s cover blown, this felt more like a personal betrayal.

Bobbi was now standing less than twelve feet from the pair; every step closer sent a shudder down Natasha’s spine. Bobbi ran her gaze over Natasha’s body before settling on her eyes with a smug “I know something you don’t” look.

“How could you? I thought we were friends,” Natasha knew she would struggle to fight her way out of this one, maybe she could appeal to Bobbi’s better nature.

Bobbi stood up a little straighter and scoffed. Bobbi raised her gun at Natasha; Natasha flinched and instinctively leant into Maria behind her. Bobbi’s body language changed in an instant and she seemed to back away from them for a brief moment. Bobbi frowned at the floor for a moment before neutralising her facial expression and moving to stand directly in front of Natasha.

“Hail HYDRA…”

Bobbi raised an eyebrow at Natasha, as if daring her to make a move. Natasha muttered under her breath as she moved into her fighting stance, knowing it would take more than a few well-placed punches to take Bobbi down.

“Now would be a really good time to use those spare bullets, Maria.”

Natasha was about to throw herself at Bobbi when she felt Maria place a hand on her waist, guiding her into a surprisingly intimate hug. Natasha buried her face in the crook of Maria’s neck, Bobbi had them cornered; there wasn’t a way out this time. Not that Natasha could see anyway.

Bobbi coughed, drawing Natasha’s attention away from Maria for a brief moment. As Natasha turned to glare at Bobbi, Maria’s warm breath on the back of her neck making her hair stand on end, Maria whispered into Natasha’s ear:

“Hail HYDRA.”

Maria squeezed the trigger of the gun she was now holding to Natasha’s waist. Two gunshots echoed around the room as Natasha’s body fell to the floor in a bloody heap.


End file.
